


Two is Better Than One

by gracefulseal99



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-07-11 02:12:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7022215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracefulseal99/pseuds/gracefulseal99
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They're not really sure how it happened, but it was love at first sight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two is Better Than One

**Author's Note:**

> Title is a song by Boys Like Girls featuring Taylor Swift. One shot fanfic.

**_July, 1996_ **

The door slammed behind him, shaking before stopping. He bit his finger to keep from crying. He could still hear their laughter. He banged his hands against his ears fiercely.

Why was he so stupid? He hadn't even meant to stare as long as he had. Honestly, how could he not when Suarez's butt was right in his face?

"You checking me out, fatty?" Andre had asked, his head whipping around to glare at Yadier. Suarez's minions snickered, clearly enjoying how pale he must've been. Normally, Yadier would fight anyone who called him fat, but something stopped him.

He hated the way his voice shook as he whispered, "No."

An evil grin spread onto Andre's face. Yadier winced when he spat, "Imagine that? Fagier Molina is checking out my butt. Why am I not surprised?"

His biggest and dumbest minion, Rodrigo Hernandez, laughed in a way that made Yadier shuffle his feet away. "Not surprising to me either, Andre. I think he checks everyone out. Too bad he's so fat and ugly; he can't get a girl to glance in his direction so now he's gone to guys."

The other two kids and Andre laughed. Andre moved to push him, but Yadier saw it coming and dodged. "What's wrong, Fagier? I thought you'd enjoy being on your knees in front of me?" Suarez shot.

All the fight Yadier should've felt had decided not to show up at all. So, he did the only thing he knew how to do. He turned and sprinted down the street, calculating in his head how far he was from home. He soon gave up on the math. It only made his head throb.

Now, it was his heart that was throbbing. He sank to the ground, bringing his knees to his chest and hugging them with his arms. Yadier hid his face in his knees. He, Yadier Benjamin Molina, was an ugly, fat coward.

"You know, silence is the worst company."

Yadier peeked an eye out from above his knee. His father sat in front of him, lighting his cigar. Yadier shook his head and placed it back on his knees. "I don't want to talk, Pai," he murmured.

"You? Not talk? Thank the Lord for finally shutting the mouth of this child," Benjamin Sr. said, chuckling at himself. "News travels fast, Yadier. I know about those boys."

He looked up, fear making his heart thud harder. Had his father heard why they'd said those things?

"Calm down, mijo," his father said, reading the panic in his eyes. "I am not upset with you."

Yadier stared at his shoes. "They're right," he said, closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to meet his father's. "I'm ugly. I'm fat. No one could ever love me," he whispered.

Silence ensued. Yadier hoped his father had given up and left him to pity himself. However, that wasn't the case.

Arms encircled him. Yadier was shocked by this rare show of affection from his father. "I love you, mijo. That will never change. You will find someone someday that will make you as happy as your Mai makes me. I have no doubt that you'll become a great young man one day. You're already a great son."

Yadier hugged him back, finally recovering from his surprise. "I love you too, Pai," he said, meaning it more than ever.

**_April, 2004_ **

The buzz inside the Memphis clubhouse never seemed to stop. At first, he had been amazed by how long some of these guys had played together. Yadier himself had had to climb the ranks for two years just to stand where he was now, one call away from the majors.

Now that he'd been with the team a month, though, he found it unbearable. Every day, he waited anxiously for his shot in the MLB, and every day resulted the same. He didn't know how some guys could do this their entire careers and never get the call.

He was pondering on whether or not he should order new shin guards because his were refusing to stay latched. He glanced to his right. Yadier stopped struggling with the clasps and stared at the name on the back of the jersey that a trainer was hanging in an empty locker. 'Wainwright', it read, and he frowned. He was almost certain that there wasn't a Wainwright down in Springfield. Who was this guy?

The trainer noticed him staring at the jersey and smiled. "The big guy in St. Louis made a trade yesterday with Atlanta. We got Wainwright and another youngster that they sent to Springfield," he explained. A few of the other players had been listening as well. Ankiel put his hands on his hips and chewed his gum thoughtfully. "Great. When's he coming?" he asked.

Before the trainer could answer, the door to the clubhouse opened. In stepped one of the tallest people Yadier had ever been in the presence of. He was skinny with arms that were shorter than his legs. Brown whisps of hair shaded his eyes, which were a soft brown, like chocolate. His cheeks were gently rounded, his dimples showing when he smiled nervously at the group of players staring at him. Those brown orbs landed on Yadier, and they locked eyes for a long moment. Something in his chest fluttered, and he realized he was short of breath.

He had never believed in love at first sight until that moment. He felt colder than he had ever before when Wainwright's attention was brought to the trainer, who had waved his hand at him. "Your locker is right here," the trainer said.

Wainwright moved to go to his locker, but stopped when he noticed the eyes still on him. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, Yadier noticed. He looked terrified.

He did the only thing he could for the man and took his eyes off of him, returning to his original business of putting on his shin guards. Slowly, other people did the same. Even though he wanted to give the new guy some space, he felt compelled to sit down next to him, to be closer to him.

Wainwright was staring at the jersey in his hands, a look in his eyes that Yadier had never seen before. Sadness? Anger? Maybe both. "You look more afraid than I did when I first came here," he noted. "And I couldn't speak English."

The taller man didn't answer. Yadier got the sudden feeling that he should just walk away and leave him be, but he continued anyway. Curse his social awkwardness. "What's your name?" he decided to ask. This seemed like a safe question, since he would have to know it eventually. Apparently, Wainwright had different feelings about the question. There was a bitterness and some edge to his tone when he muttered, "Adam Wainwright."

The game was about to begin. Players were starting to filter out of the locker room. Adam didn't move to leave, though. Yadier knew he had somewhere to be. He had to warm up the pitcher before the first inning commenced. However, he couldn't leave, not just yet. Maybe he could talk some sense into Adam.

As soon as they were alone, Yadier said, "I can tell you don't like it here."

Those brown eyes moved ever so slightly in Yadier's direction. He continued, "The Cardinals obviously saw something in you that the Braves didn't. You're one call away from being in the bigs, something so many people dream of but never achieve. We'll get along if you came here and want to win. If you came here to pout, you should get out. This is a business."

Adam opened his mouth to say something, but Yadier didn't give him a chance to respond. He grabbed his mask and jogged out, hoping that what he had said meant something to the distraught man.

**_ May 2004 _ **

Wainwright had been in Memphis for a week, and he felt more alone than ever. He missed his friends and family back in Atlanta so much that it physically ached. It had been heartbreaking when he had received the call. He had been hoping it was the one he'd waited for his whole life, but it had been the one he thought he'd never hear.

The Braves, his childhood team, had traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals. Question after question ran through his mind with every pitch he threw. What had he done wrong? If his own team didn't want him, how could the Cardinals?

One week turned into two slowly. He was getting a drink from the water fountain outside of the bullpen and was wallowing in his misery when something hit his leg. There was a crash, a shout of a curse word, and the sound of plastic hitting concrete. Adam turned to see the catcher that had chewed him out that first day (Molina, he thought) trying to gather his helmet as well as the baseballs that had fallen from the bucket he now held.

"Sorry," the catcher muttered, placing a handful of baseballs into the bucket. If Adam really were a bad guy, he would've left Molina there to pick up the balls himself. However, he wasn't going to stoop that low just to get revenge.

He sighed, bending down and grabbing some of the baseballs. "No, it was my fault. Me and my big butt," he said, an attempt to break the ice. A ghost of a smile crossed the catcher's face. He reached for a ball between them, but so did Molina, and his hand ended up on top of Adam's. A blush crept across his cheeks as they met each other's eyes, and then quickly averting them. He pulled the ball away and put it in the bucket. He could still feel the lingering warmth of Molina's hand on his own.

"I've got these," he said, picking up the bucket. The catcher raised an eyebrow. "You've got balls? That's surprising," he said, grabbing his mask from the ground. Adam did the weird wiggle with his eyebrows that always made the boys in Atlanta laugh. "You know it, Molina."

As they walked down the hallway to the bullpen, Molina was silent. Adam wondered if he had said something wrong, and his heart sank. That is, until Yadier turned to him when they reached the bench and said, "It's Yadi. That's what my friends call me."

Adam felt his heart beat hard in his chest. Was Yadier implying that they were friends? He smiled gently at the catcher and replied, "My friends call me Waino."

Yadier smiled back, and Adam was able to fully take him in. He had the gentlest brown eyes Adam had ever seen, a slight twinkle making them shine like the sun when he laughed. He was tan and had a thick accent, meaning he wasn't from America. His smile was just the right size, spreading wide enough to make the corners of his eyes crinkle. Adam couldn't believe how he had missed how breathtaking this man was. 

"Waino, can I have my balls back?"

From that point on, their friendship blossomed.

  ** _June 2004_**

He held the phone to his ear and tried to keep his hands from shaking. He chewed his lip nervously until his tongue caught the metallic taste of blood, and even after that, he bit his fingernails. How would everyone react in Puerto Rico?

Finally, the phone connected on the other end, and his father's voice, rough and tired, asked, "Yadier, what is it? It's nearly midnight here."

He couldn't contain it any longer. "Pai, I made it. I got the call. I'm going to the majors," he said, proud of how his voice didn't shake.

There was a brief silence before he heard his father yell across the house excitedly. "Oh, mijo, I'm so proud of you. I knew you would make it," he said when he returned back to the receiver. Yadier could hear his mother in the background now. "I guess even bad apples can still shine," he heard her say, and he smiled to himself.

Their conversation was short, as it always was when the call was out of the country. He called his brothers as well, and similar reactions came from them. The Molina brothers were no longer a duo, but a trio. Pai must've been so proud.

After he hung up after his talk with Bengie, he thumbed through his contacts until he came to Adam's. He stared at it for the longest time. How desperately he wanted to call Adam and tell him the good news. He and Wainwright were growing closer and closer. They shared everything at this point: bats, batting gloves, helmets, hotel rooms. Would he miss Adam?

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he thought of all the times they had spent goofing off and just being close to each other. It had only been a month, but Yadier felt something deep and true for Adam that he couldn't quite place a name with. He needed to tell Adam about this, he realized, or the pitcher would feel betrayed should he come into the locker room that night and be greeted by Yadier's empty locker and no explanation. 

So, with his decision made, he took a deep breath and pressed call. The phone rang three times. He was more nervous than he should've been, and nearly prayed that Adam wouldn't answer at all, but he did on the fourth ring.

"Hey, Yadi. What's up?" he sounded so nonchalant, like the world wasn't about to change.

He swallowed back the lump in his throat. "I got the call, Waino," he said, not caring that his voice shook this time.

The silence that followed was physically painful. Tears filled his eyes. "Today?" Adam finally asked. Yadier nodded, even though he knew Adam couldn't see him. "I have to be on the plane by eleven," he said. "I play tonight."

Another long silence nearly killed him. Finally, Adam said, "I'm proud of you. I'll watch you every time I can. Don't wait up on me. I'm coming soon too, you just keep being you."

It was a promise. "You better," he said, laughing despite the tear that rolled down his cheek. "I might just protest if I make it and you don't. You're better than me."

There was a chuckle and some static came through because of it. "We'll see. Good luck, Yadi. I know you're going to be great," he said.

They said their goodbyes, which made Yadier's chest ache furiously. He didn't know why. It wasn't like he'd known Adam for very long. Maybe he was just nervous about how the guys up in the show would treat him. 

Yes, that had to be it, he thought as he hung up. Yadier took a deep breath and forced himself to smile. _You're going to be great,_ Adam had said.

"The greatest I can be," he whispered, holding his phone to his chest, right over his beating heart. 

That was a promise.

  ** _September 2005_**

He wasn't expecting Busch Stadium to be so big. Of course, he had seen pictures of the Arch in the background, as well as the arches that rimmed the stadium, mimicking the Gateway to the West. A picture may have been worth a thousand words, but it didn't come close to actually being on the field.

It had been a little over a year since he had found himself dropped into the Cardinals organization. He had worked, sweated, bled to make his way to the top. Now, it had all paid off.

"It took you long enough."

Adam turned his head to see a catcher standing before him, hands on his hips with his mitt tucked beneath his armpit. A smile slowly spread onto his face. "Really? I thought it was really short. Just an entire year, no big deal," he teased.

The mask was lifted and revealed Yadier's raised eyebrows. "I knew you were doing it on purpose."

"Doing what?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. If he were completely honest, he didn't know what his friend was talking about.

He certainly was surprised when Yadier stepped closer, glove forgotten when it dropped to the grass as Yadier's arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him in for a hug. Adam swallowed the lump in his throat with how much emotion was in Yadier's voice as he whispered, "Making me miss you."

He hugged Yadier back, wanting to be as close to him as possible. Adam hadn't realized just how much his heart truly ached for Yadier until now, as the pain disappeared the longer he was in the embrace. He didn't want to let Yadier go, ever.

"Not my fault. You're the one that was too good," he teased, voice muffled by Yadier's jersey.

Yadier pulled back and punched Adam in the shoulder just enough for it to hurt. "You wish. I can't be sentimental with you," he said, crossing his arms over his chest in mock hurt.

Adam was about to make his own comeback when a voice yelled, "Hey, hermano! You said you'd only be uno minuto and I've been waiting forever!"

A bald man who was as tan as Yadier walked out of the dugout. He was a big guy, broad shoulders and ripped muscles. He had bushy eyebrows and fierce eyes. A gold chain was looped around his neck. Adam didn't need a picture to know he was looking at Cardinals phenom Albert Pujols.

Yadier rolled his eyes and turned around. "Can't you see I'm having a moment here?" he asked when Pujols reached them. The first baseman responded with a rush of Spanish that Adam didn't understand. Yadier flipped him off, but it only made Albert laugh.

Their attention was once again turned back to Wainwright when he cleared his throat. Albert wound his arm around Yadier's shoulders. Something flared inside Adam intensely as Yadier let himself be pulled closer to Albert. "Who is this?" Pujols asked.

Yadier gave Adam a smile. "A good friend of mine from Memphis. Al, this is Adam. Adam, Al," he said, gesturing to both of them. Albert stepped forward and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Adam," he said as they shook hands. "Any friend of Yadier's is a friend of mine."

Adam disliked the possessive tone in his voice. He swallowed back a comment and forced a smile. "That's good to hear," was all he was able to say.

Surprisingly, Pujols laughed. He glanced at Yadier. "I like him. He's funny."

He patted Yadier on the shoulder and said something else to his friend in Spanish. Yadier shot him an annoyed look, but nodded. Albert began walking back to the dugout once more.

"So..." he said, trailing off. Yadier smiled, but it was shaky. Adam felt anger course through him. Had Albert said something that made Yadier upset? 

"Sorry about him. He likes to act tough, but he's really a big baby," he said, picking up his glove. "Are you here to stay, do you think?"

All he could do was shrug. Something was bothering him and he wasn't sure what. He kept his feelings a secret though. Yadier looked him up and down with a frown. "Is something wrong? You look mad."

"It's nothing," he said quickly, giving Yadier a smile to reassure him. "Just...nerves."

Something flashed through Yadier's eyes for a moment, but it was gone too fast for him to recognize what it was. The catcher turned to leave, but said, "You should come hang out some time. My house isn't far from here, and I never have company other than Albert."

Adam smiled, the anger melting away when he saw how hopeful Yadier looked. "I just might have to take you up on that offer," he said.

The catcher grinned. "See you around, Waino," he yelled behind him as he walked towards the dugout. Adam felt the pain in his chest again. "See you," he whispered, too quietly for Yadier to hear.

  ** _October 2005_**

It hurt more than it should've, losing to the Astros in the NLCS. He had come so close to playing in his second World Series in as many years. There was the promise of next year, but that was so far away. He felt numb.

Hands were on his shoulders, but he didn't remove his gaze from his locker. He knew it was Albert, but Yadier wasn't in the mood to be cheered up. The locker room had gone utterly silent as the shock still sunk into each and every player.

He was wrong. Al didn't say a word. Instead, he wrapped Yadier in a hug. There were no tears from either of them. Yadier was reminded once more why he was friends with the first baseman. Though Albert could be overwhelmingly protective of him, and annoying as well, he knew exactly how to make him feel better, if only a little. Yadier allowed himself to tuck his head into his friend's neck, knowing that Albert wouldn't pull away. He would probably make fun of him for it next year, but right now, there was no room for judgement.

Ever so slowly, the clubhouse emptied, until only about five guys were left, still too stung to move. One of them was Adam, Yadier noticed when he opened an eye. He was slumped over on the bench, staring at his helmet. Yadier wished he could comfort him like Al was doing for him right now. He wanted to wrap Adam up in his arms and tell him it would get better. He wanted to, but at the same time, he felt as though it would make things weird, and that maybe his true feelings for Adam would spill. He was too vulnerable at the moment to be the comforter. 

Albert squeezed Yadier. "I'll drive you home. I may spend the night, if that's okay with you," he whispered. 

Yadier nodded. He didn't want to be alone tonight anyway. Tomorrow, he would have to start packing, schedule his flight to Puerto Rico, clean out his locker, say goodbye to some guys, a few of which wouldn't be in the locker room next year. His thoughts went to Adam. Had he played well enough for Tony to see he belonged? Had Yadier himself played well enough to be kept?

"Stop, hermano," Albert whispered. "You're overthinking. I can feel you shaking."

All he could do was murmur an apology in Spanish. The exhaustion had finally caught up with him, and the shock was wearing off. His knees hurt more than he would ever admit. There was the heart brokenness he felt that wouldn't go away.

At least he was warm now, Albert's warmth chasing away the biting cold he had felt outside. The crisp, Missouri air had bit at him and made his eyes water and his teeth chatter. Any longer and he would've had pneumonia. 

When Albert pulled away, he whined, tired and now cold too. Pujols laughed, tapping his cheeks gently to wake him up. "Let's get you home. It's late," he said, pushing Yadier until he had no choice but to stand.

With a huff, Yadier let Pujols lead him out of the room. He felt eyes on them and looked back to see Adam, but he still had his eyes locked on the helmet, like he hadn't even noticed they were gone.

**_ April 2006 _ **

Adam found that the feelings he had for Yadier wouldn't disappear. The moment Yadier walked into the clubhouse after the game, his heart beat a little faster. However, the smile on his face disappeared when Albert walked in.

"Woah, kiddo, you look like someone just murdered your dog," Rick Ankiel said, sitting next to him. He followed Adam's gaze to see Yadier laughing at something Pujols said. "Oh, I see. You're jealous."

Adam raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wait, what? No, I'm not jealous. Why would I be jealous?"

Rick laughed. "Don't hurt yourself," he said, tying his shoes. "I think you should talk to Yadier and tell him."

"Tell him what?"

Once more, Ankiel laughed. Adam wondered what he thought was so funny. Rick leaned in close. "You get butterflies when you look at him. Your heart beats ten times harder than it did before. Your mouth goes dry and you can't speak. Face it, kid, you have the hots for your catcher and you've got them bad," he said matter-of-factly.

No. He had to be wrong. Adam didn't have a crush on Yadier...did he? He looked up again to see Albert dancing Molina around the room, even though the catcher was laughing too hard to move his feet. He nearly collided with a pole, but his smile only brightened. The same feeling went through him. Maybe he was jealous. He wanted to make Yadier laugh like that. He wanted to spin him around the room and hold him like Albert had done that last day in October.

"I can't," he whispered, a lump in his throat.

Rick frowned at him and asked, "Why not?"

Wainwright shrugged. "Look at him. He's happy, and Albert makes him happy. I can't get in the way of that. I...I love him too much," he whispered.

Silence, and then his friend snorted. "You think Al and Yadi are gay together?"

It was Adam's turn to frown. "They're not?"

"Heck no! Albert is just protective of Yadier because he's never had a little brother that he could fuss over before, at least not like this. But gay? No, stupid, Albert is married," he announced.

Now he felt really dumb. He stared at the two once more. He could see now that Rick was right. Albert's hands stayed right on Yadier's, spinning him when Yadi wasn't ready. He caught him when he fell, apologizing through his laughter.

"Go for him, Waino," Rick whispered. "Won't be long before someone else sees what you do."

He gave Adam one last pat on the shoulder before walking out of the locker room. 

Adam took a deep breath, going to Yadi when Pujols stopped dancing. Yadier looked up, his eyes lighting up when they landed on Adam. Adam didn't have time to spit the words out because arms wrapped around his neck for a hug. "Hey, Waino! How was your offseason?"

His throat went dry. "Good. Yadi...I need to talk to you. Alone."

Yadier pulled away and looked him in the eyes. He frowned and backed up a step. "Alright," he answered finally.

Adam lead him outside, and they started walking around the block. It was silent as they did so. Finally, Adam said, "There's something I need to tell you. I don't want it to affect our friendship, but it probably will."

The catcher glanced at him. "Is it Albert?" he asked quietly. Adam shook his head, and Yadier relaxed slightly. "Then what is it?"

He sighed, stopping and turning to Yadier. "Ever since I first lay eyes on you, I can't get you out of my mind. At first, I didn't know what was wrong with me. Every time I looked at you, I couldn't breathe normally. Every time I made you smile or laugh, my heart beat so hard that I could hear it," he said quickly.

The catcher stared at Adam. "Why didn't you tell me before?" he asked, softer than he thought he would. Adam shrugged and said, "I guess I didn't want to admit to myself that I had feelings for you."

He closed his eyes, prepared to be rejected. He didn't think his heart could take it, but he would try. 

A hand closed around his, tangling their fingers together. Adam opened his eyes to see Yadier smiling at him, inches from him. "I was afraid to do this until now," he said.

Adam blinked. "To do what?"

Yadier leaned forward, wrapped his arms around Adam's neck, and kissed him.

**_ October 2006 _ **

Yadier never wanted this feeling to go away. Everything was warm and fuzzy in the best way. He knew he was drunk, but he didn't care. He deserved it. After all, he was a World Series Champion now. They all were.

He smiled as arms wrapped around him tighter. Adam was fast asleep, his head leaned against his pillow on the plane window, one arm wrapped around Yadier and the other holding him close.

He rested his head on Adam's chest with a contented sigh. He was a World Series Champion. He had the best team anyone could ask for. He had the best friend a guy could have. But most of all, he had Adam.

Maybe he was Fagier Molina, but maybe that was a compliment, he thought with a smile as he fell asleep in Adam's arms.


End file.
